


Wrong Kid To Bully

by Obsessed_Fander



Series: Anxiety And The "Heroes" [2]
Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Family Fluff, Like one curse, Mentioned Character Death, So I'm horrible at tags obviously, Tho he's more like a morally grey hero, Villain!Virgil, but no one else sees that, first story!, it's just like "oh yeah that happened", slight angst, you don't even meet the characters tho
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-17
Updated: 2019-10-17
Packaged: 2020-12-21 09:35:22
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 9,808
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21072740
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Obsessed_Fander/pseuds/Obsessed_Fander
Summary: Anxiety is the greatest villain the world has ever known. However, he's facing some problems when his 11 year old daughter starts getting bullied at school.





	1. Beginnings

**Author's Note:**

> I'll leave a link to the original prompt  
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B276K4E3ABTPektKUU1GM2FFZVRzckdBekhSZ2hCaXdxT2dB/view?usp=sharing   
Sorry, this is the first thing I've ever uploaded to Ao3

Anxiety sighed, pacing his room, the Tv blaring stories in the background. Stories of him robbing banks, breaking laws, kidnapping one or more of the Heroes just for fun. He had his powers, which he kept concealed at all times, so it was always easy to defeat them, Princey always put up the most of a fight, but he was still a quick loss. Though to the “prince” they were long battles, to the villain it was merely a minor inconvenience or a short activity he engaged in. Logic and Morality took a little longer occasionally, since Logic tore down his distortion abilities with his knowledge, and Morality used his empathy to try and get him to stop or figure out what his next move was likely to be, but they too didn’t pose much of a threat. He even knew all of their real identities, and he would sometimes tease the idea over their heads, but he didn’t do much about it. There was one problem though that was holding him back from conducting further activities at the moment, and it was also taking quite the toll on his emotional state as well. His 11 year old daughter, Adara.

She was clearly going through something, but she refused to talk to him about it. She used to be so innocent and gentle, but he could feel her slipping away, he could see her views of the world growing tainted. He did everything he could to prevent it, he didn’t want her to become like him, so she never knew of his job. He had found her in an orphanage when she was three, and he knew instantly that he needed to take care of her. He was scouting out the town, planning his next staged attack, he actually quite liked the news reports of his “devious actions”, when he saw two women bringing the distraught girl in. He spoke to them once the girl was getting taken care of, and it turned out that a fire had gotten out of control and her parents were killed, her home destroyed, because the heroes had used fire against him in one of their public battles. He knew Princey was the only one who could use and control fire, and had gone out of his way to make sure the supposed hero got a good beating during their next fight, and afterwards he went back to the orphanage, having done everything necessary so that he could adopt her other than signing the paperwork so that when he went there he would be able to take her that day.

_“Really? May I have some ID so I can confirm it?” The receptionist asked, seeming wary. He gladly handed over his drivers licence, watching patiently as she ran a few searches. She handed it back after a moment, in awe. “I’ll let you see her, but she has to agree to it first. It’s only been a month, so if she’s not ready we legally can’t let you adopt her.” She warned, and he nodded respectfully. He understood, for months after his own parents died he refused to let anyone adopt him, and he was eventually put into foster care. He moved house to house until he finally aged out of the system, and from there his dark thoughts and views only grew. _

_“I understand completely, I have my own experience with not wanting to be adopted too soon.” He explained calmly, and she gave him a surprised glance. _

_“Adara, sweetheart?” She knocked on the door, calling in. The door swung open, revealing a tearful young girl, a pale blue dress with dirt stains coming into view. Her red hair was in braids, brushed back so her green eyes were clearly visible. Her face was covered in freckles, easily seen against her pale skin. _

_“What?” She asked sharply, her eyes shining in the light as she held back tears. Virgil instantly knew he would do everything in his power to make her smile. _

_“This man here,” She began cautiously “Wants to adopt you. But only if you want him to, it’s up to you.” She explains, and the girl stares at her, before shifting her gaze to Virgil. _

_“Why?” She asked, looking tired and defeated, but now there was something else too. There was hope, flickering in her eyes, though she tried to hide it. _

_“Are you asking why I want to adopt you?” He asked, and she nodded shyly. “Well because I saw a wonderful young girl from a broken home and I knew as soon as I saw her that I wanted to protect her. I want to take care of you, and do anything to make you happy, but if you don’t want to, or aren’t ready yet for a new home, I understand.” He said softly, his expression gentle and caring. She stared for a long moment, thinking it over in her head. _

_“I want to go.” She finally conceded in a small voice, her hands fumbling with each other. _

He brought her home a few hours later, and she had ran around in delight. Being a villain with multiple industries under his control meant that his “main house” was pretty much a mansion, with a little over a hundred rooms in it. He rarely spent time there, since he had never had a reason to before then. But after that day he spent almost every single moment of his time there, or out somewhere with Adara. He wanted to give her the innocent, happy childhood he had never received. He wanted her to be free to choose as she wanted and do try everything that she never thought she’d be able to. But, though it took some restraint on his part, he wanted her to be humble too, he didn’t want her becoming spoiled and causing another villain, even if it wasn’t what most people defined as one. He wanted her to be kind and compassionate too, to have all the tools and abilities he never learned. He too learned from her, but recently she had grown quiet. Something was troubling her, but she wouldn’t tell him, and it was tearing him apart. A phone ringing drew him out of his thoughts.

“Is this Anxiety?” Someone asked after a moment, and his eyes narrowed as he let his voice corrupt.

“Yes, who is this and what do you want?” He asked quickly, and they seemed to grow more aggravated by his response.

“This is Princey, and it’s time you showed your face. You’ve been hiding for a month now, and you need to reveal your plans.” He practically growled out. Anxiety sighed, had it really been that long? He was just too worried to really notice that he hadn’t made an appearance in a while.

“Yeah sure, when do you wanna meet?” He asked, his tired tone slipping through, though the corruption remained. He couldn’t have his identity at risk.

“Wait, what?” The hero backtracked, shocked.

“I said, when do you wanna meet? I haven’t got much time right now, but I’m not planning something. I do have other things in my life than being a villain ya know.” He said, and he heard a sigh from the other end.

“Tomorrow? At the parking garage, you know which one. Two pm, _don’t_ be late.” He said, growing more sure the longer he spoke. Anxiety chuckled.

“It sounds like you’re planning a date. Alright, tomorrow at two, the parking garage. See you then.” He said, and promptly hung up. He glanced at the time and quickly shoved his phone in his pocket, de-corrupting his voice as he rushed out of the room. He passed a cleaning maid on the way and smiled at her, despite his status as a villain he was overly-kind to his staff. In fact, he was never really cruel to anyone, unless they deserved it, at least in his eyes. The heroes believed no one deserved to be punished by violence, which they showed by trying to beat him up. It was ironic, but he didn’t dare point it out. When he arrived in the dining room he saw that dinner had already been laid out, one of his daughter’s favorite meals sitting on the table. He sighed in relief, throwing an extra 20 into the tips jar he kept around. He kept many, each one specifically designated to the types of staff so he could thank them for their work. He made it to the room he wanted and knocked. “Adara, dinner’s ready.” He called.

“I’ll be there in a minute.” She called back, sounding distressed. He frowned, his concern growing, but gave her space and went to sit at their small dining table. They always ate dinner together, no matter what else they did that day, and it was the one time that they talked about issues more seriously than the rest of the time. He tried to stay lighthearted and positive while around her, so dinner was when they were both able to talk about more grave topics more comfortably. After a few minutes passed she arrived, sitting down and serving herself. They ate in silence for a minute, but finally he couldn’t stand it anymore.

“I don’t want to pry if you don’t want to talk about it,” He began, gaining her attention “But something’s obviously been bothering you and I want to help however I can if you’ll allow me.” He explains, his eyebrows knitted together in worry. She sets down her fork, tears blooming in her eyes.

“I know. I’m just” She paused, searching for the right words “I’m scared to tell you, because I’m worried you’ll be upset.” She says, and his eyes widen. Him, upset with her? It was hard for him to imagine, and he’d easily thought of far worse things. “Just, try to be accepting?” She asks fearfully, and he quickly agrees.

“Of course, so long as you tell the truth I won’t be upset with you.” He said, and unlike when most parents said it, it was the truth, and both of them knew it. Still, she looked scared, but she relaxed slightly.

“Well, there’s this girl at school who keeps harassing me, because” She bit back tears “Because I like both boys and girls, and she keeps saying I’m a freak and just bullying me for it.” She explains, and some small part of her expects him to get angry, to freak out because of what she told him, to say that the girl was right. Because she was starting to believe it too.

“She’s bullying you just because you’re bi?” He asked incredulously, and she looked up in surprise. She’d heard the term used before, but never about herself. “Or, sorry, that might not be how you identify. But because you’re attracted to boys and girls?” He rephrased, and she stared at him.

“Mostly the girls part.” She said quietly, before looking up at him carefully. “You’re not upset?” She asked, and he has to hold back from laughing.

“Oh, honey, I am _extremely_ gay.” He said, a wide grin on his face. “So no, I’m not mad. At least, not at _you_.” He clarified, his grin fading slightly.

“Oh.” She said, not sure how to react. “But you were right, I think I identify as bi.” She said, and he nods reassuringly.

“So long as you’re comfortable with it, that’s all that matters.” He said, a soft smile resting on his face. She smiled briefly too, but it disappeared rather quickly.

“But what should I do about her? I’ve reported it, but they said there’s not much they can do. Her dad’s been feeding them tons of money to keep quiet, and they don’t want to lose the funding.” She said, bitterness taking over her tone. “I can’t believe someone would be so sick as to do that.” She said, and though he grows slightly hesitant, he agrees.

“Me either. I’ll take care of it though, don’t you worry, just tell me if it happens again.” He wasn’t lying either, he himself, though he did commit other crimes, didn’t force anyone to not take action against her. He wanted her to learn from her mistakes, and feel the low parts of life, since they were what gave the better parts meaning. They continued talking and he gained the girl’s name, which he carefully stored away for later, wanting to make sure some retribution was in order. He wasn’t going to attack a child, he wasn’t _that_ cruel - though some would beg to differ - but something _had_ to be done.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Feel free to point out any mistakes you see in the story! It is welcome and appreciated


	2. The Fight

A day later he was taking off, flaunting his wings - which he could make appear and disappear at will with no harm or discomfort - as he arrived on the top of the parking garage, where they had often held their battles. It was abandoned so they wouldn’t hurt civilians during their fights, something that both sides were grateful for. Princey was already there, Logic and Morality hiding behind him. Of course, he wasn’t going to bring a fair fight, he just wanted Anxiety taken down. Anxiety himself just wanted it to be over with so they would realize he wasn’t planning something and then he could get back on with his life. His daughter needed  _ help  _ dammit and they were preventing him from providing it immediately. He growled, corrupting his voice on instinct as he saw them.

“You finally decided to show.” Princey called out, glaring. He glanced at his watch, narrowing his eyes.

“I’m half an hour early, idiot.” He said, making Logic murmur. 

“Didn’t you say he was supposed to be here at one?” He asked, and the prince quieted him.

“He always shows like an hour early so it was safe to assume.” He said angrily, and Morality frowned, but kept his mouth shut for the time being.

“Alright, let’s get this over with.” He said, snarling, and without further banter the fight began.

It was fast-paced and hard to follow unless you were accustomed to it. At some point weapons were drawn by both sides but they were quickly blasted away by Morality, who didn’t want anyone getting any more hurt than they already were. Logic was the best at hand-to-hand combat, with Princey in second, though the more brightly dressed of the two much preferred sparring with a weapon, which only happened when it was just the villain and him, since the other two didn’t like it very much. Morality healed everyone when needed, and Anxiety could see him hesitate every time before returning to battle, as though he wanted to heal Anxiety too, but knew his teammates wouldn’t like it. He often wondered about this afterwards, but now he didn’t pay it much attention, since he rarely got actually injured anyways, and he was an extremely fast healer anyways so the few times he did get hurt it was usually no longer a problem an hour or two later. This time though, something interrupted their fight in a different way than usual.

A phone rang. Anxiety always kept his personal phone on him just in case Adara needed him, but the heroes had his other phone, so they wouldn’t be able to find out his identity. He had actually registered the second phone while in costume and everything, going solely under Anxiety so that it would be impossible to track him down using it, and it never used his location so they couldn’t literally track him either. It was a precaution he took, but he never considered the possibility of her actually calling during a battle. The heroes all froze, realizing whose phone it was. They all silently agreed to let him take the call and they’d resume afterwards, since it  _ would  _ actually give them a little information about him, but Princey was the most begrudging of them, since they had a golden opportunity to attack and were wasting it with their “hospitality” in his opinion.

“Yes? I’m a little busy right now.” He said gently, reluctantly removing the corruption from his voice so she wouldn’t be afraid or recognize it as Anxiety’s, since she’d heard of him before. The heroes stood in shock as he let his guard down slightly, a soft voice and an even softer look on his face as he spoke.

“It-” She hiccuped “It happened again. Th-this time she attacked me, and I’m locked in a school closet.” She sobbed into the phone, her tone a desperate plea. He broke inside at the sound of it, but his expression quickly hardened, because  _ someone did that to her. Someone hurt his child and they were going to  _ ** _pay. _ **

“I’ll be there in ten minutes, hang on.” He said, regretfully hanging up as she accepted. He turned to the heroes, his eyes darkening as he corrupted his voice again. “You follow me, you  _ will  _ be hurt  _ badly.”  _

He took off without another word, leaving them speechless on the roof. He became a shadow and raced across the town, making it to her school. It was her first year of middle school, meaning that she was on the complete opposite side of town from where he was, but he made it in record time, shifting back to his regular self instead of Anxiety’s outfit in less than five minutes. He let the corruption fade from his voice as he pulled out his phone again, calling her as he hurried through the halls, ignoring the confused students. He flashed an idea at a secretary and they simply nodded, he was pretty well known since he was basically a billionaire, people just thought that it was because he owned so many successful corporations, which was only part of the reason. It took two rings for her to pick up, each of which gave him ample time to overthink.

“Dad?” She asked, afraid and alone. 

“Where are you? I’m at your school but I need to know where you are to help you. Do you know?” He asked, trying not to let his panic seep through.  _ She was hurt, and alone, and scared, and he  _ ** _needed to get there _ ** ** _now._ **

“I was coming out of the bathroom nearest the gym when she cornered me, we got into a fight and she threw me in the custodian’s closet.” She explained, barely making it through before breaking down again. 

“Alright, I’ll be right there, just hold on.” He said, quickening his pace as he redirected himself towards the gym. He kept murmuring reassurance to her over the phone, making sure she knew she was going to be alright. Finally, he reached the closet, and he knocked on it softly. “Can you hear me?” He asked over the phone, and he heard the echo of his knock on the other line, making relief wash over him, though he was far from relaxed.

“Y-yeah, I heard you knock. Sh-she locked it though, I heard her turn the key, I-I’m trapped.” She sobbed again and this time he heard it through the door, his heart shattering. His eyes narrowed again as determination set in, he didn’t learn these methods just so he could be seen as a villain.

“Back up, okay? I need you to get as far away from the door as possible.” He said firmly, and though she was confused, she agreed, pressing herself against the far back of the closet. He took a deep breath and kicked in the door, catching it before it could slam down and hit her. By now everyone was in their class, so no one was around to witness it, and he carefully laid the door aside. Instantly he was on his knees, his arms open wide. She shuffled forwards, falling into his embrace.

“I- I though I might be trapped for-forever.” She stuttered out, tears wetting his shirt. He stroked her back soothingly, holding her close.

“Shh, it’s alright, you’re safe. Everything’s gonna be okay.” He said softly, helping her calm down. They stayed like that for a few minutes before she finally calmed down enough to pull away, at which moment he fully took stock of her injuries. She had been slashed by nails, four clear gashes on her arm, slapped, as evidenced by the red print on her face, and beaten all over as showcased by the various bruises, and those were only the ones he could  _ see.  _ He saw a rip in her shirt and, upon closer inspection, discovered that she appeared to have been  _ sliced  _ at with some sort of blade, which managed to only barely nick her skin. “Can you explain to me what happened?” He asked gently, wanting to get the full story from her. She nodded, taking a deep breath and swallowing.

“I was coming out of the bathroom, about to head back to class when she confronted me.” She hesitated, looking down like she was embarrassed. “She said that I was just greedy and it was gross that I liked girls too, and slapped me. When I pushed her back to defend myself she-” She cut herself off, taking a deep breath as tears welled up in her eyes “She slashed at me with her nails,” She nodded to the marks near her shoulder “And lifted me off the ground, before slamming me back down. I tried to get up but she hit me against the wall, taking out a pocket-knife.” She hiccuped, trying to regain control. Virgil reached out, resting a comforting hand on her shoulder. “She tried to st-stab me but missed, getting my shirt instead and dropping th- it.” She shook her head, counting her breathing for a moment before continuing. “Th-then she threw me in the closet and locked me in, laughing as she walked away. I had a panic attack and called you afterwards.” She finished, tears streaming down her face. He pulled her in again, if only briefly, wishing he could erase all the pain that she had gone through, both physical and emotional.

“Do you know how long you were in there before I got here?” He asked quietly, trying to figure out how much she had suffered, and thus how much the perpetrator would have to pay - and not just in money. 

“Maybe 20 minutes?” She said, vaguely estimating. She leaned in again, but he didn’t complain, openly accepting her into another embrace. He just wanted her to feel safe, and this was most certainly a traumatic experience. After a little while they pulled apart, and he helped her stand up. He walked her to the nurse and watched carefully as they treated her, and then immediately took her to the main office. 

“Hello, can I arrange a meeting with the principal and guidance counselor?” He asked kindly, flashing his brightest smile. The person at the main desk quickly complied, setting up the meeting in a matter of seconds. They both came out of their offices, and, upon seeing Virgil, wordlessly made their way to the meeting room. They followed behind, Adara hiding against her father for comfort.

“What would you like to discuss?” The principal asked, a fake smile upon his face.

“First of all, hello Mr. Taki,” He nodded to the principal “Mrs. Salem” He nodded to the guidance counselor “And thank you for meeting with me on such short notice.” He said, a bittersweet smile upon his face. He’s learned this tactic before, get them on your side, be pleasant and respectful, before making your case, and they’re much more likely to help you, even if it’s somewhat ridiculous. “I would like to address the issue of harassment and bullying towards my daughter, Adara.” Be clear and concise, stating exactly what is happening and clarifying to make sure they understand exactly what you mean. “And also the fact that you have been doing nothing about it.” And state the issue with their actions beforehand, so they understand that this is something that must be done because previous actions did not work.

“What’s wrong?” Mrs. Salem asked, acting oblivious. Adara shot her a dirty look sidling closer to her father.

“Amanda Spirits” Both professors winced “has been verbally and physically harassing her, and when she came to you about it you both did nothing, continuing to let it happen.” He said, his smile fading, the pleasant look in his eyes changing to something much darker. They grimaced, holding back the urge to shiver at the look he was giving them, though it was far from a glare.

“I’m sure that she was just joking around.” Mr. Taki said, his grimace increasing at the intensity of Virgil’s stare.

“Joking around?” He asked in disbelief, a cold tone coming to his voice. He thought about stabbing the man, not enough to kill him, but just barely enough to put him in the hospital for a while so he could realize his mistake. But he blinked, remembering where he was and why he was there, and he set the desire aside for the moment. “Do you see these marks?” He gestured to Adara, who shrunk back. He sent her an apologetic glance before continuing “Those were all given to her by Amanda, and I’m sure we could pull up the security footage to prove it if necessary.” He said confidently, he trusted his daughter, and based on the marks it would be hard to fake what happened, plus, why would she  _ want  _ to fake being attacked for her her sexuality? 

“Yes, I think we would both like that.” Mr. Taki said stiffly, walking over to his computer and pulling up the past footage. 

“Where was she when this “incident” supposedly occurred?” Mrs. Salem asked, a clearly fake smile on her face.

“I had just come out of the girls bathroom by the gym, around half an hour ago.” Adara spoke up for the first time, standing by her word. She would never lie to her dad, not about something so important. He pulled up the footage, starting right as she walked out. They watched as she got a few good feet with nothing happening, completely relaxed.

“See? Nothing happen-” The principal tried to cover up, but he was interrupted by a shout coming from his computer. He turned around, just in time to see Amanda slap Adara directly in the face, the sound echoing in the silent room. They proceeded to watch the evidence while Adara herself buried her face in her dad’s shirt, not wanting to relive it again. Virgil was staring intently at the screen, his blood boiling. He wasn’t just mad now, he was positively  _ livid.  _ Which, when it comes to Virgil Storm, is an extremely dangerous emotion.

“Nothing?  _ Nothing?  _ ** _You call that nothing?” _ ** He asked, and it felt like he was losing his sanity. He needed to calm down, he needed to get a grip on reality, he needed an  _ anchor,  _ something to ground him he- Adara tugged on his shirt, worry clear in her eyes, and almost instantly he calmed down. He needed to be civil, if not to save his identity, than at least for her sake. He had to remain calm, no matter how hard it was. He took a deep breath, still glaring daggers at them. “You have  _ refused  _ to take this issue seriously, and as such, if something is not done by tomorrow, I  _ will  _ be taking legal action. I don’t care how much her father is bribing you, she needs to face serious consequences for her actions. My daughter will be taking an excused break for 1 to 2 weeks, if something is not done to ensure her safety by the time she’s back,  _ I will shut this place down for good.  _ You have my word.” He said coldly, all pleasantness gone. He is still remaining civil, he will not lose his temper, but they need to know the stakes. 

“A-” Mrs. Salem tried to interject, but one look from him shut her up. “Alright.” She said instead, resigning herself to making some extreme changes for the sake of her job.

“Good  _ day.”  _ He said, turning on his heel, his daughter with him. Once outside she looked up at him in awe, she had never seen him be so persuasive or controlling before. In fact, she had never seen her father act  _ anything  _ but pleasant towards others, and to see him so furious, for  _ her  _ no less, was a jarring experience. She remained silent until they were in the car, driving away, but she could see her father was still seething.

“Dad, it’s okay.” She said quietly, adjusting the seatbelt nervously. He glanced over at her and his expression softened instantly, his jaw relaxing as his shoulders slumped back. He shook his head tiredly, running a hand down his face.

“I’m sorry, it just hurts me to see you in so much pain. And to have them not only doing nothing about it, but willfully ignoring the fact that there even is an issue to begin with? I was ready to kill them.” He said, and she smiled knowingly. He was being literal, he was genuinely ready to stab them, and if they died because they didn’t acknowledge that problem either, then that was their fault, since he wouldn’t take a fatal shot. She however interpreted it as him just being extremely angry with them, as that is how that term is most commonly used.

“I get it, I felt the same way when I saw my friends being harassed by her.” She said casually, and it took everything in him not to slam on the breaks for fear of injuring her worse.

“How come you didn’t tell me they were being bullied too?” He asked carefully. While he himself did not particularly care for the 11 year old girls, he knew they were important to Adara, so he would protect them for her sake if it came down to it. She shrugged anxiously.

“I reported it around a month ago and they did nothing. When they saw that it wasn’t being taken seriously, and that she treated me worse for it, they became too scared to speak up. I didn’t want them to get thrown under the bus while we were in there, and there wasn’t really time before that since I only told you last night.” She explained, before tilting her head to the side curiously. “If you don’t mind me asking, what were you doing when I called you? You sounded pretty tired and held-up, like it was something impossible to get out of, yet you still came to get me, and faster than I could’ve even hoped.” She said, curious but not wanting to pry. He glanced at her before looking out the window, growing slightly ashamed. How would her view of him change if she knew? He had heard her renouncing his name when she was younger, but lately she had grown to somewhat understand Anxiety’s actions, so how would she react? He knew he couldn’t tell her, not yet, he couldn’t ruin it for her.

“I can’t tell you, my work doesn’t like it if we tell even the closest of family members, let alone kids. They’re biased like that.” He clarified quickly, not wanting her to be upset that  _ he  _ didn’t want to tell her because she was a kid. Though that was the main reason, it was pretty much solely because she was  _ his  _ kid, and he didn’t want her to hate him or stop trusting him, since he was the only one really looking after her, especially with the school so controlled at the moment. She seemed disappointed, but understanding.

“Oh, I get it. Thanks for telling me why though.” She said, smiling tiredly at him. He returned it, and they turned on the radio for the rest of the way home.


	3. Rescheduling

A few hours later he received a call, from a number he had saved as Princey last night, since the princely hero had never called him before. He finally had all of their contacts, while they were heroes. They had all copied him and gone in while in costume to get a phone for themselves so they too could contact him without revealing their identities, though - little did they know - he already knew exactly who they were anyways. But he didn’t want to reveal this just yet, so he waited until they contacted him. He sighed, picking it up and corrupting his voice as always, ready for whatever bullshit they were throwing at him now.

“Anxiety!” He exclaimed angrily, his tone accusatory.

“Yes, Princey? What do you want now?” He asked tiredly, rubbing his temple. He had gone through quite the emotional whiplash today, and he didn’t want more drama so soon. Outside in the hallway his daughter creeped closer, having heard the phone ring, and then her father mumbling something to the person on the other end. She pressed her ear up against the door, listening in on the one-sided conversation.

“It appears we need to reschedule our fight, since you disappeared in the middle of it today.” He said, as though he had just committed another crime. Adara only heard a vague murmur, which she knew was the person on the other end, but she also knew she wouldn’t be able to decipher what they were saying.

“Fine. Tomorrow, the old fighting ground, 5 pm. I won’t disappear in the middle of it this time.” He said lazily, rolling his eyes. He heard a growl from the other side, then a sigh, and Adara snuck away.

“ _ Fine,  _ and you better not. What even took you away from it?” He asked, and Anxiety sighed again.

“I told you before, I  _ do  _ have a life other than being a villain, and I don’t have to indulge any personal details, since you don’t tell me about  _ your  _ life, so goodbye.” He said promptly, hanging up. He didn’t care if Princey got mad, he was tired and annoyed, and he had more important things.

The day passed quickly, Adara mostly resting, Virgil mostly planning legal action against both the school and the Spirits family so that if it came to it he was ready, and neither of them talking much at dinner, a slightly tense silence taking up the air that was usually filled with chatter. Some small talk was exchanged, but nothing of any real importance was discussed, and they both went to bed not too shortly after. He continued to fret over how he would deal with the two villains of his daughter’s life until finally four pm rolled around, and he pulled himself out of his work. He went to his daughter’s room and knocked, he was going to leave early and actually head to the battlefield a little later, but he wanted to let her know first so she didn’t go looking for him and not be able to find him.

“Yeah?” She called, glancing at the time. She had to get ready soon too, she wanted to know what he was doing, and since he  _ never  _ kept secrets, even when he was supposed to, it was concerning that he wouldn’t tell her what was happening. 

“I’m heading out a little early, they want me to make up the work I didn’t get to yesterday. I’ll be back for dinner, okay?” He called, wanting to make sure she was alright before he left. He didn’t go in, since she hadn’t gave him permission to yet, but he needed her to know.

“Okay. Sorry.” She called, she was supposed to be resting, not planning, so she didn’t want him in her room just yet. He frowned, guilt eating away at him.

“No, it’s not your fault. It’s just like when you miss a day of school because you’re sick, no one’s upset you just have to make up the work later.” He explained, he didn’t want her feeling guilty. 

“Alright, see you in a bit.” She said, knowing that it might end up being much sooner than he expected.

“See ya.” He said, and without further goodbyes he left, letting out his wings and simply flying around a bit. One perk of having powers is that one of his was becoming invisible, so he didn’t have to worry about being seen. He spent about a quarter of an hour just flying around, during which Adara spent doing her own preparation. 

She got into discreet clothes, dark sneakers allowing her to get to her location without much difficulty. She told the staff she was going out, and turned down the offer to be driven. She claimed she had already told her father, and though they hesitated, they believed her. They didn’t want to get on Virgil’s bad side by claiming they didn’t trust her, since they knew he would trust her with his life, even when she was acting unwise, and they also knew that they  _ never  _ kept secrets from each other. She made it to the abandoned battlefield, everyone in town knew about it, it was still used just not by military forces, instead by the “heroes” Princey, Logic and Morality when they fought against the “villain” Anxiety. She had mixed feelings about all of them, since Anxiety only went after bad people, and the ”heroes”, specifically Princey, had accidentally burned her house down, killing her parents in the process. She hid in an abandoned watchtower, staring down at the field. She was just close enough that she could hear everything being said, which came in handy as just a minute later Anxiety landed in front of the heroes, voice corrupted as always, costume in place.

“Are you going to make a habit of this?” Princey asked, taking charge as always. He smirked, tilting his head to the side in mock innocence.

“Habit of what?” He asked, though he knew exactly why the other was mad.

“You  _ always  _ come an hour early. Today and yesterday though, you came half an hour early, making an idiot out of me.” He growled out, and Morality visible shifted, biting his tongue uncomfortably. He chuckled.

“I didn’t do that, you made an idiot out of yourself. But I’ll arrive as I see fit.” He said snarkily, and up in the tower, Adara gasped. He sounded exactly as he did yesterday while on the phone, she hadn’t understood why his voice had sounded so different, but know she understood. He changed it to keep his identity secret. This  _ was  _ her father, the same caring man that took care of her. She thought back to the day before, and she realized that the clues were laid out just by the way he acted in the office. That cold, conniving gaze, the easy persuasion and ability to destroy someone easily, to get them complying by a few choice words. The way he  _ genuinely  _ seemed ready to kill the man, as he had said later in the car. He wasn’t joking. But then there was the fact that when she tugged on his shirt he seemed to snap out of it, when he looked down the rage disappeared, and there was no doubting the genuine love and care in his eyes as he looked at her. Everything was so contradictory, but at the same time it still made perfect sense. She just didn’t want to acknowledge it, her brain wouldn’t let her.

“Still, you haven’t proved you aren’t planning something. You’ve been gone for a month with no word of what you’re gonna do next.” A month? That’s how long she’d been noticeably quieter at home. Had it really taken that much of a toll on him? “Not to mention that you disappeared yesterday in the middle of a fight because of a phonecall.” Her phonecall? “Then you just promised them you’d be there in ten minutes without trying to convince us first, and took off.” It had to be her phonecall, that’s exactly how he had ended it. No wonder he sounded busy, he was in the middle of a  _ fight,  _ but had stopped it to make sure she was okay. And that explained what she heard last night, they were rescheduling. How could someone considered so evil care so much about her?

“I told you, I’m not planning things. This is the third time I’ve told you, I  _ have  _ a personal life outside just being a villain. I know you do too, so why is that such a hard concept to understand?” He asked, sneering. Logic scoffed.

“It is highly unlikely that someone like you has a “personal life” that is not well known as one of the worst politicians there is, or something similar.” He said coldly, and Morality looked to the ground. It was obvious that the many times they had scolded him for speaking had finally gotten to him, and he was keeping quiet despite his instincts. 

“If it’s such a big deal that it intrudes on your villainy, then why don’t you just reveal your identity then?” Princey asked, and Anxiety’s eyes darkened. Like he was putting his daughter at risk like that.

“Why don’t you reveal who  _ you  _ are then?” He spat back, the remark obviously having hit harder than intended. Adara watched fearfully, were they about to start fighting? She feared she was too close, though she was at the top of the watchtower, it was only two stories, so she wasn’t very high up.

“Because it would be idiotic, obviously.” Logic said, and Princey threw a glare at him. It was clear he didn’t like being anything other than the leader, and having the others speak at  _ all  _ frustrated him.

“Then why would you ask me to do it? I’m not stupid.” He said, and with that Princey attacked. His punch missed by a mile, and Logic stepped in, throwing accurate and quick hits, that barely missed their target. As each got more frustrated, and Morality got more and more ready to heal someone the second they needed it, Princey finally snapped. 

He made his signature flames, attacking the villain, and that’s when Adara’s heart froze. She heard screams, she saw the flames burning her house, the dead bodies of her parents. She saw Princey flying away, uncaring as the fire grew out of control, with him barely even noticing. She heard the cries of her close family, but no one was willing to take her in. She saw her father, coming forwards and adopting her out of the kindness of his heart, because his opponent had made a mistake. She felt her blood grow cold, her heart seeming to slow  _ intensely  _ to the point that it only seemed to beat every ten seconds. She saw red, and before she knew it her feet were carrying her downwards, out the tower, towards the battle.  _ She couldn’t let another parent be killed by his flames. She couldn’t let someone who cared about and loved her be destroyed by the same person who wrecked her first family. She  _ ** _couldn’t._ ** She raced forwards, letting out a scream, causing the four them to turn to her, Princey’s flames forgotten as she ran in front of her father.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the cliffhanger! But I promise, the next chapter will be out in like, five minutes, not even.


	4. A Childish Argument

It echoed across the battlefield, the sudden  _ boom  _ of wings being taken out and placed around her. She was taken in, protected completely as he was hit by the flames, completely vulnerable and hurt as he protected his daughter, the same soft look coming onto his face. Her scream faded as she stared at the darkness, only realizing after a moment that she was looking at wings,  _ her dad’s wings, protecting her from harm.  _ The three heroes stared, stunned, at the act of protection towards a random, innocent child that the “heartless villain” had performed. Slowly, he drew his wings back, revealing a tearful and afraid girl. He brought his wings back into his body, and it took everything in him not to break at the sight of her, helpless, alone, broken, and with nothing he could do without revealing his identity. He kept a shield up, kept his walls built as he put on a blank look, but there was no erasing it from the heroes’ mind, the soft look he had taken on, if only momentarily, as he protected her. She turned to the prince, an angry look upon her face as she stepped forwards, Anxiety focusing all of his energy on not holding her back.

“No!” She shouted, pointing at the “hero”. “You might not remember me, but I sure as hell remember you! You burned my house down with your reckless flames, you  _ killed  _ my parents, but you wouldn’t know that, now would you?! Because you didn’t care! I  _ won’t  _ let you hurt someone else with your stupid fire, just because you deem them a “villain”, while calling yourself a hero! You don’t deserve that title!” She yelled, a furious look in her tearful eyes. 

“Why do you care about him? He’s killed people before.” Logic points out, and she glares at him.

“So has Princey!” She points out angrily, and said figure scoffs, glaring.

“So you’re one of the few insane people who stand up for him.” He shifted his attention to Anxiety “Is this what you were planning? To have us chewed out by a lying eleven year old?” He asked incredulously, and she growled.

“I’m not lying!” She said, and Anxiety stepped forwards, a similar glare on his face.

“She’s not. It was eight years ago, and if you remember you got quite the beating after that one.” He snarled, trying to keep the protectiveness out of his tone. 

“Some “hero” you are!” She exclaimed, and he glanced between the two of them.

“So I’m supposed to believe a villain and a pre-teen? Sorry, but that’s not a credible source of information.” He said dismissively, and Morality finally opened his mouth. 

“Actually, they’re both right.” He said quietly, and Princey rounded on him. “You weren’t paying attention to your flames and accidentally burned down a house. Her parents were trapped inside when it happened.” When Princey went to brush it off again his gaze hardened. “That a reliable enough source for you?” He asked harshly, his emotions breaking through.

“And I love how when I try to stop you from hurting him, it’s considered as me being insane, but when you try to stop him from hurting someone it’s considered heroic. You think it’s wrong to hurt people, which you show by trying to beat him up. Do you think that it’s alright if you’re doing it? Do morals and laws not apply to you because you’re the “good guys”? What is  _ wrong  _ with you?!” She exclaimed again, her face cold and hurt. 

“Why do you care about her?” He avoided the questions and attack by questioning Anxiety directly. “You never seem to care about innocent civilians, yet you directly put yourself in danger, and got harmed doing so, to protect her. Why?” He interrogated, and Anxiety scoffed.

“Well that’s a lie. I always care about the _innocent _civilians. It’s the not so innocent ones that I go after. Plus, a literal child just ran into a fight, directly into your line of fire, _literally, _and you didn’t think to stop the attack for fear you might hurt them, or do anything to protect them since you deem me as dangerous and someone who doesn’t care about hurting someone like her. Who’s the supposed villain here again?” He asked, a glare on his face. 

“Excuse me?  _ You’re  _ claiming that you care about innocent people?” He asked, as though the idea was impossible.

“More than you do, since you let her parents die without even  _ caring or helping.”  _ He pointed out again, and Princey scoffed.

“What, not cursing all of a sudden?” He asked, continuing to avoid the direct attacks on how he did things.

“There’s a kid! Right! In! Front! Of! Us! And you’re not doing anything about it despite still deeming me dangerous enough to attack her at any moment! And you’re  _ still  _ avoiding any and all evidence that you might not be as perfect as you want to be! Stop your incessant dodging of the questions with your own questions directed towards me!” He shouted, and Adara internally sighed. This was definitely her father alright, and she glanced at Morality, who noticed the look and gently blasted the two apart.

“Enough! This fighting is getting us nowhere. First, we have to deal with the most pressing issue at hand: There is an innocent kid in the way of a fight, and it is our duty to make sure she doesn’t get hurt by either side.” He said firmly, and Princey pouted.

“Where do you live?” Logic asked, and she crossed her arms.

“I’m not going anywhere. Not until I know you’re not gonna hurt him.” She said, and Virgil laughed. 

“Please, they can’t hurt me. They’re not competent enough. And on the rare occasion they do land a blow, I heal within an hour, so it’s nothing to worry about.” He said calmly, and she grew more aggravated.

“I’m not risking losing another parent to him!” She screams before she can think about her words, and when she does she notices the shocked silence, making her realize instantly that she messed up.

“Parent?” Logic asked, turning to Anxiety with an eyebrow raised. He didn’t remove his eyes from Adara, fear creeping in.  _ She knew. She knew this entire time. How long has she known? She knew and she still risked her life to save him? How did she get here?  _ ** _How long has she known?_ **

“What do you mean sweetheart.” Morality said sweetly, trying to keep the tension down.

“I mean that I’ve already lost both of my biological parents to his reckless fire, I’m  _ not  _ letting it happen again!” She said, trying to hide her guilt at revealing her father’s identity.

“Is this what you meant by personal life?” Princey asked unamusedly. “Pretty reckless of you to send your daughter out onto the battlefield to save your own neck.” He said, trying to prove his point again.

“You think I would be so cruel?” He asked with a glare, before turning to her. “How did you get here?” He asked, trying not to let his panic show.  _ He needed to protect her, she was in danger, he needed to get her out of her,  _ ** _she was in danger, she was in _ ** ** _danger, danger danger danger-_ ** She looked up at him embarrassedly.

“I overheard you on the phone last night with your voice all weird. I didn’t listen to much, but I heard you say the location and time, so I went to my room and started planning. I was in the watch tower and that’s how I found out. I didn’t know until today, since I know you’re worrying, and I told the staff that I had already told you about it. They know better than to call you saying they don’t trust me.” She explained, and he let out an invisible sigh of relief. 

“Voice all weird?” Princey asked, his eyebrows raised, and Anxiety turned to him.

“You don’t really think I’d ever talk to you with my real voice, do you? You heard it yesterday when I answered the phone, I corrupt my voice when I’m speaking with you to protect my identity.” He said, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. 

“Was that call from her?” Logic asked, gesturing to Adara. He nodded stiffly, there was no point in hiding it. 

“What were you discussing? Why did he need to get there so quickly?” Princey asked harshly, stepping forwards. He ignored the warning look in Anxiety’s eyes, leaning down as he gets even closer to her. 

“Because of this.” She said, pulling back both of her sleeves and revealing the bandages over her injuries “A g-”

“Oh my god, does he abuse you?!” Princey exclaimed, jumping back in horror.

“What? No!” Both Virgil and Adara exclaimed together, disgust clear on both of their faces. 

“A girl in my grade was harassing me and trapped me, I called him to come rescue me.” She stated matter-of-factly. 

“You called  **him** ? To  _ rescue  _ you?” Logic asked in disbelief.

“Well I didn’t know he was Anxiety yet. But even if I did I still would’ve called him, I trust him. He’s my  _ dad,  _ I know he’ll take care of me.” She defended, a protective look in her eyes.

“Yeah, right.” He rolled his eyes, ignoring her fists clenching at his action.

“He literally put himself in the direct path of flames to protect me!” She pointed out, her anger growing once more.

“She’s right you know. And you still haven’t apologized for  _ either  _ instance of the flames.” Morality said pointedly, and this earned a sigh from the prince.

“Fine. I’m sorry that you almost got hurt from my flames during battle.” He said begrudgingly, looking to Morality to see if it was enough.

“And the other time, which is much more important.” He said, growing slightly impatient.

“What other time?!” He practically shouted, and Virgil had to hold Adara back so she wouldn’t attack the “hero”.

“The time you killed my parents idiot!” She shouted, struggling against her father’s grip. 

“You don’t want to get in a fight with him, trust me.” He said softly, still refusing to remove the corruption from his voice. She stopped, but she still didn’t relax.

“Oh, right. Sorry about that.” He said with a wave of his hand, looking away. Her eyes widened and she clenched her jaw, taking a powerful step forwards. Virgil grabbed her arm, pulling her back in gently.

“Alright, we’re getting you out of here, I’m not risking you getting hurt even worse.” He said, pulling her close so he could fly away with her. 

“Not so fast!” Logic called out, aiming a blast of energy at him just to stop him. He miscalculated though, and instead it hit Adara, knocking her to the ground from the sheer force of it, not to mention the cut it left on her cheek. Morality rushed forwards to heal her but was knocked back by wings expanding outwards, the villain rising slightly off the ground.

“You get  **away ** from her!” He shouted, his eyes growing dark. He sent his own blast of energy, knocking the three of them to the ground, and in unison they realized their mistake. He wasn’t even using his full power yet, and it was more than double the strength he had  _ ever  _ used against them. Meaning that he never really cared about the fights, but now they had made the worst mistake possible. They had hurt the one thing he cared about most, and they were going to  _ pay  _ if the look in his eyes was anything to go by. They were blasted back again, with the exception of Morality, who he gave a warning look. “You may heal her, but then you must stay  _ out  _ of the battle. These two have been far worse than you.” He growled out, and the moral figure hurried to do so, quickly healing not only the injury caused by his colleague, but the ones she had already beared as well. He gave one final glance to the other “heroes” before taking off, not wanting to risk getting hurt further for the other two’s actions.  _ They  _ were the stupid ones this time, for not listening to him.

“I apologize, I was not intending to hurt her.” Logic explained, adjusting his glasses as he attempted to stand. 

“It doesn’t  **matter! ** You knew there was an innocent child on the battlefield,  _ extremely  _ close to where I was, and you  ** _still attacked _ ** without worrying about it!” He shouted, letting them get closer. Princey summoned his weapon and began to attack, only to have it ripped from his hands, and then the hilt of it came down against his head, knocking him out cold. He would get worse later, right now he had to focus on the one who had caused direct injury to Adara.

“Well you can understand why, we didn’t want you taking off! You still haven’t revealed why you were gone for an entire  _ month  _ with no explanation!” He shouted, dodging the next blast of energy.

“You idiot!” She shouted, standing up. “You want to know why?! He was worried about me!” She exclaimed, racing forwards. If she had little faith in them before, she absolutely  _ despised  _ the so-called “heroes” now. Morality was the only one that she didn’t hate, but she hadn’t had much interaction with him before. He did seem to live up to his name, so maybe he wasn’t so awful. Still, these people had  _ killed  _ her parents,  _ destroyed  _ her home,  _ attacked  _ her, and were still trying to hurt her father! 

“Why?” Logic asked curiously, forgetting about the battle momentarily. Which was a mistake, because he got punched square in the jaw. 

“You don’t need to know every detail of our lives!” She shouted, and something in Virgil snapped further.

“Alright, you want to know  _ Logan?”  _ He asked, earning a gasp from the “hero”. “Well you, as a  _ teacher,  _ should know that you are not entitled to the knowledge of everything that goes on in someone else’s life, as your students have proved time and time again.” He was just glad that he didn’t work in the same school district as Adara was in, so she’d never have to be taught by him. 

“Dad?” She asked tiredly, causing him to glance downwards, his gaze softening.

“Yes?” He asked softly, not wanting to scare her anymore than he probably had.

“Can we go home now? I don’t want to deal with  _ them  _ anymore.” She said, looking down. He instantly dropped to the ground, wrapping his arms around her gently.

“Of course. Let’s go.” He said, and as she wrapped her arms around him he took off from the ground, holding her tightly so she wouldn’t fall, and turning them both invisible as they flew away. They could still see each other, but no one else could see them.

“Won’t someone see us?” She asked quietly, fear clear in her eyes. He held her tighter, removing the corruption from his voice.

“No, we’re both invisible right now.” He said, and she looked up at him in surprise. “It’s another one of my powers.” He explained, and she rested her head against him. They landed home, and he brought his wings back in, changing back to normal clothes with a snap of his fingers. He smiled softly at her before making them both visible again, and they walked towards the front door. There certainly was more to work out between them now, and with the school plus Amanda, but for now they were just going to hang out together, as a family.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, how did you like it? I finished this awhile ago but I decided to post it now. Plus, I have a sequel that's in the works, and I'm actually updating fairly regularly!


End file.
